Purpose in life and exercise task behaviors: Evidence from a 10-week running task in college students

Abstract

This study examined associations between purpose in life (PIL) and objective indicators of exercise task completion patterns among college students. Participants were 547 college students (Mean age = 19.71, 42.23% female) required to complete 63 km within 10 weeks for course credit. Participants completed questionnaires assessing PIL and demographic characteristics before the running task began. Running data were tracked via a mobile app and five behavioral indicators were derived: days from task onset to initiation, days from completion to deadline, total completion time, percentage of distance in final 2 weeks, and frequency of early morning runs. Multiple regression analyses revealed that higher PIL significantly predicted shorter total completion time after controlling for gender, age, and BMI. PIL was also associated with more frequent early morning runs, although this association was not robust to alternative model specifications. However, PIL showed no significant associations with the remaining behavioral indicators.